The legs of a right triangle measure 9 feet and 12 feet what is the length of of the hypotenuse?

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Answer 1 · 2016-12-08T23:44:34

The length of the hypotenuse is 15 feet.

To determine the length of a side of a right triangle you use the Pythagorean Theorem which states:

#a^2 + b^ =c^# where #a# and #b# are the length of the legs and #c# is the length of the hypotenuse.

Substituting the information provided and solving for #c# gives:

#9^2 + 12^ = c^#

#81 + 144 = c^2#

#225 = c^2#

#sqrt(225) = sqrt(c^2)#

#15 = c#